


Tripping over flowers

by kythen



Series: small magics au [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Established Relationship, M/M, Road Trips, and lots of boyfriend-carrying, and sappy feelings, in which there are flowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 19:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7545563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kythen/pseuds/kythen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A road trip fic. Saving the environment, one field at a time.</p><p>A follow-up fic to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5380862">"And flowers bloom in his wake"</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tripping over flowers

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support I had on "And flowers bloom in his wake". I was pretty new to kurodai and writing in the HQ fandom at that time and all the hits, the kudos, and the wonderful comments I received was just _amazing_. I really can't thank you all enough. It's been half a year since then and I'm still quite firmly lodged in the kurodai pit so here's a short follow-up fic to "And flowers bloom"!

Their starting point is at Daichi's house.

The sun is already high in the sky when Kuroo ducks out into the porch, raking his eyes over the mass of flowers in Daichi's backyard until he spots Daichi.

Daichi is standing waist-deep in sunflowers, crowded around him like sentries and turning their heads towards Kuroo as he makes his way over to Daichi. He touches a hand to Daichi's arm and Daichi turns, a smile spreading across his face as he sees Kuroo standing there, awkwardly blocked out by the sunflowers. He lets Kuroo draw him out of the flowers, taking him by the hand as he steps around them and onto the path cutting through his backyard.

"What is it?" Daichi asks and Kuroo tries to ignore the way the sunflowers stare accusingly at him from behind Daichi's back.

Kuroo takes a deep breath and says, "Let's go on a trip."

Daichi blinks at him. "What?"

"A road trip."

"I heard you the first time but what?"

"Come on, Daichi, you told me that you'll show me around Miyagi once we got here."

"I did. And I am," Daichi says to him, confused. "We've only been here for three days. You can't expect me to show you everything by then."

"So let's go on a trip. Speed up the process a bit. I've been here for three days and you've already said hi to everyone in town and I already got roasted by your friends yesterday so I think we need to get away."

"So what you're saying," Daichi says slowly, catching on immediately, "is that we're going on a road trip because you got intimidated by Suga and Asahi."

"I didn't say that," Kuroo says automatically.

"It was implied." Daichi grins at him. "Don't worry, Suga just said all that to mess with you."

"He was convincing," Kuroo mutters. "I like my dick. _You_ like my dick. I'd rather it stays as it is."

Daichi smacks him in the chest. "So how are we going on this road trip? Your car's back in Tokyo."

"Which is why I asked to borrow your parents' car. They were very willing to let us have the car while they go off on their trip to Okinawa."

"How did you manage that? You've only known each other for three days."

"I am very charming."

"True. I think my parents like you more than I do."

"Are you saying that you _don't_ like me?" Kuroo places a hand over his heart, affronted. "Aren't I supposed to be your favourite person?"

"Not even close," Daichi answers immediately. "You're more like my personal gardener or something."

Kuroo pouts, watching the way Daichi's eyes crinkle around the edges in amusement. He keeps his limbs loose, easy enough for Daichi to step in and wrap his arms around Kuroo's waist. Daichi tugs at him, his face upturned, and Kuroo tilts his face down obediently for Daichi to brush a kiss against his lips.

Daichi's eyes are bright with laughter, with affection, as he looks at Kuroo and asks, "So where are we going?"

\---

"What are we going to do about that field?" Daichi asks Kuroo, glancing out of the window as Kuroo starts the car.

Daichi looks guilty but he is also glowing, biting down on a smile as he rakes his eyes over the masses and masses of flowers he left behind. Kuroo still can't get him to say it but he knows that Daichi likes his gift and the flowers that grow from it. Kuroo likes them too, and he especially likes the way Daichi comes alive in the midst of them all.

There are still bits of grass in Daichi's hair and Kuroo finds himself brushing them off absently, running his hand through Daichi's hair to get the last of them out. He is lingering, still affected by their time out in the field with Daichi so close to him, and he makes himself take his hand away, placing it firmly on the steering wheel as they set off.

While Daichi was partially right about why they started out on this road trip, the other, much bigger part of it was that he needed to get Daichi out here into the countryside where he could use his gift as he liked. Tokyo had not worked well for the flowers, with too much concrete and too many people, and neither of them had wanted to see the flowers sprout only to die so soon after. With their busy schedules, the only time he ever got to see Daichi's gift in full effect was in their apartments.

Kuroo had kept azaleas and carnations and camellias and whatever else he could hoard from Daichi in his apartment, placing them out on the balcony and lining them along the windows. The flowers that came from Daichi's gift were hardier than usual, growing strong and healthy in conditions they naturally shouldn't be able to, but Kuroo still fussed over them whenever he could and talked to them when Daichi was not around. Recently, some of the friendlier flowers had started turning his way when he watered them and he counts that as a personal achievement.

"How do you think the flowers are doing?" Kuroo says aloud.

"Hm? You mean the ones back in the field?"

"No, the ones we have back in Tokyo."

"They should be fine. After all, your mom and Kozume are helping us look after them, aren't they?"

"I'm surprised that Kenma even agreed to in the first place. He told me that it was too troublesome."

"He's nice," Daichi remarks. "He said the flowers were pretty."

Kuroo makes a face. "You see my problem here? He only sasses me. To you, he's perfectly nice."

"He also told me that you were being a huge embarrassment during camp because you wouldn't shut up about the flowers."

"How on earth did you get him to talk so much anyway?" Kuroo mutters.

Daichi drums his fingers against the door. "We were talking about you. I guess you could say it was his version of the best friend talk. He really cares about you."

"I know."

After graduation, Kuroo had moved into an apartment close to his university, away from his family home and Kenma's house next door. Kenma had helped him with the packing, which meant that he sat on Kuroo's desk chair while Kuroo stuffed everything he owned into boxes and complained his way through it.

They said little about Kuroo's actual moving but they didn't need to. After spending all those years together, on and off the volleyball court, there was nothing that had to be said between them. Besides, as Kenma pointed out, Kuroo was still going to be here in Tokyo anyway. In fact, it seemed more likely that Sawamura would need help adjusting to life in Tokyo after coming here from Miyagi.

So Kuroo went. He helped Daichi to move into his new apartment and then he brought him back home to meet Kenma. Kuroo thought that they wouldn't talk much, seeing that Kenma went quiet around most people and Daichi was still tired from the move, but he had guessed wrong.

He should have guessed that they would team up on him. Typical.

"What are you looking at over there?" Kuroo glances over at Daichi as a flash of colour catches his eye.

Daichi unfolds their map, leaning towards the window so that he doesn't knock against Kuroo's arm. There is their starting point, circled in red ink with a squiggly line leading out from it, looping ambitiously around the area marked out as "Miyagi". Daichi pulls out his phone to check it against their current point, his gaze sweeping over the red ink decorating the map.

"You know, I don't think I've been to all these places you marked out here," Daichi admits, tracing their planned route with a finger. "Anyway, if we're going to Matsushima, why don't we just cut straight across here?"

"Because we're taking the scenic route," Kuroo replies. "We're going to see _all_ of Miyagi."

Daichi looks doubtful.

What Kuroo doesn't tell Daichi is that the route outlined on the map takes them through most of Miyagi's countryside, sprawling grass fields with no one in sight for miles. He is banking on the chance that they don't come across many people on this trip, giving Daichi a chance to use his gift to the fullest without repercussions—or at least _immediate_ repercussions. And if they did, all those years of volleyball training might come in handy if they had to make a quick getaway.

"Don't worry too much about it." Kuroo assures Daichi, pulling the map away from him.

Daichi still looks suspicious but he takes one last look at the map before he folds it back up, leaning back into his seat and settling in for the long drive.

\---

The car swerves suddenly and Kuroo jolts awake as his head slams into the window.

"Sorry," Daichi says from behind the steering wheel, "but ramen."

They had switched places a while back after Daichi caught Kuroo yawning and forced him to pull up along the side of the road, kicking him out of the driver's seat and taking his place. They had started out from Daichi's house early in the morning when the sky had still been a dusty blue-grey and the sun was barely out from the horizon and Kuroo had been driving since then.

He sits up now, yawning widely as he lets Daichi steer them into a side lane. "How many have you spotted now? Three?"

"Four," Daichi corrects him. "Two for you so I'm in the lead now."

"Damn."

When Kuroo looks out of the window, there are dark blue streaks bleeding into the sky, a sign of the approaching night. He crossed his forearms over his stomach and slouches low in his seat, just enough to watch the road ahead.

Daichi ruffles his hair after the car comes to a complete stop, switching off the engine and searching for his wallet. "Get up. It's time to eat, Tetsurou."

Kuroo laces his fingers through his, squeezing his hand once in lazy affirmation, and Daichi directs a smile his way before he gets out of the car.

The ramen place is warm and inviting and Daichi's face lights up even before they get through the front door, their hands slipping apart as they make for an empty seat. It is towards the end of the dinner rush, which means that there are only a few stragglers left and their orders get sorted out quickly.

Daichi's foot taps an insistent rhythm against the side of Kuroo's ankle as he props an elbow on the table and rests his head on his palm. Kuroo hooks his foot around his and Daichi's foot stills as he looks at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Hungry?" Kuroo asks.

"Starving. I thought you were going to feed me on this road trip."

"It's kind of hard to do that when we're between towns and there isn't anything but grass in sight."

Daichi hums, his smile growing wicked with mischief. "Some flowers are edible. Don't tell them I said that."

"You wouldn't," Kuroo says, an expression of mock horror falling over his face.

"I would if someone doesn't feed me enough on this trip."

"Well, now that's just blackmail."

"Besides, I spotted more ramen shops than you today. You're paying for dinner either way. That was the deal."

"You know that's your area of expertise. I can't beat you at your own game."

"You agreed to it." Daichi tugs at his foot with his, pulling Kuroo's leg closer into his space, and the heat from his leg brushes against the inside of Kuroo's knee.

Kuroo leans back in his seat, conceding his right leg to Daichi. "So I did. But I'll have you know that you won't be able to beat me if it was something else. Like a shop specialising in nothing but mackerel pike."

Daichi shrugs. "Fair enough."

Their food arrives and Kuroo watches as Daichi digs in immediately, practically inhaling the noodles in relief. Kuroo grins as he makes to do the same with his. "The flowers are saved."

Daichi chews an enormous mouthful and mumbles out, "For now."

\---

Kuroo drives at night, being better suited to it with his gift. The headlights illuminate the road before him but Kuroo sees everything through the windshield perfectly well, the buildings flashing by in shades of grey as they leave this town.

It has been hours since they left the ramen place and Daichi had been keeping up with him ever since then, talking to him and calling up their friends to update them on their progress, until an hour ago when Kuroo glanced over to see Daichi dozing quietly in his seat. The glowing numbers on the dashboard read "2.12am" and Kuroo turns down the radio, muffling the music and stifling a snigger as Daichi's snores filter through.

Kuroo has always had an advantage over Daichi at night, being able to stay awake for longer periods of time to rush out assignments while Daichi had been long gone. But being practically nocturnal means that Kuroo would sleep his way through mornings if not for Daichi, who was a disgustingly early riser.

To be fair, Daichi tries his best not to wake Kuroo when he gets up in the morning. But Kuroo is someone who operates on instinct and when he feels his primary source of warmth disappear, his instincts tell him to hang on and not to let go, which often results in a struggle that leaves them both wide awake.

Seeing Daichi sleeping here next to him reminds Kuroo of those early mornings in either of their apartments and especially the magical ones when Kuroo wakes up earlier than Daichi. Like in those mornings, he wants to lean over and kiss Daichi on the cheek, but in the name of safety, night vision or not, he stays where he is.

That doesn't stop Kuroo from reaching out a hand, his fingers creeping across until it rests on Daichi's thigh, warm and solid under his palm. He keeps his hand there and his eyes fixed on the the road, smiling to himself as he continues driving.

The snoring stops and Kuroo feels Daichi's leg twitch under his hand. Daichi stirs, bringing a hand up to scrub at his face as he turns towards Kuroo.

"Are you tired? Or bored?" Daichi asks, his voice beautiful and husky with sleep. "Wanna switch?"

"No, I'm fine," Kuroo says, patting his leg. "Go back to sleep, Dai."

Daichi nods, his eyes slipping shut again as he leans back in his seat. "You should be keeping your hands on the steering wheel," he reprimands softly, putting his hand over Kuroo's as if to pull it away from his leg.

But he doesn't and when Kuroo glances over again, Daichi is asleep, his hand still warm over Kuroo's.

\---

The sun is glaring, getting right in Kuroo's face as he wakes up and he groans, curling up and away from it. It smells overwhelmingly like grass and when he shifts his palm, it presses down into leaves and soil, releasing the crushed scent of something green into the air.

Kuroo opens his eyes and it isn't just green but bits and pieces of colours that have surrounded him completely, starting from the crumpled up blanket that he is lying on.

Daichi is standing a way away from him and Kuroo watches as he surveys the flowers around him with a smile and a sense of accomplishment. He is barefooted, his legs wrapped in green to root him to the ground and he blends in so well with the flowers that stretch tall above the ground, their heads turned up to soak in the sun. Kuroo sits up and there it is: another field conquered by Daichi and his flowers. They had to get out of here now.

The morning glories lined up by Kuroo's side tilt their heads curiously as he gets up, parting for him as he eases a foot into their midst. He moves slowly through the mass of flowers blocking his way to Daichi, weaving through the sturdier stalks of gladioli and stepping over the smaller primroses until he finally reaches Daichi. A spray of white flowers—lily of the valleys, he remembers—right by Daichi's feet tap against his calf and Daichi turns just as Kuroo closes the gap between them.

"Alright, that's enough, you." Kuroo hugs him around the waist and picks him up, just enough that Daichi's feet are off the ground and the flowers stop sprouting. But the damage is done and when Kuroo peeks around Daichi, there are flowers as far as he can see, covering what had initially been barren ground.

"Are you sure you want to do this? After what happened the last time?" Daichi says, digging his fingers into Kuroo's shoulders as if he was expecting to be dropped at any time.

"Shut it," Kuroo grumbles, even though he tightens his grip on Daichi just to be sure.

"Try not to drop me this time."

"I'll drop you if you don't stop mouthing off to me."

Kuroo stares out at the mass of flowers, trying to figure out how to make his way back to the car with Daichi in tow when he feels Daichi shift against him, using Kuroo's shoulders to lever himself up so that he can wrap his legs around Kuroo's waist. In this position, Kuroo finds himself having to look up at Daichi as he grins down at him. The sun is at his back, throwing shadows across his face which only brings out the brown in his eyes, fond as he gazes back at Kuroo.

"Are you trying to make me drop you?" Kuroo asks but there is no bite to his words as he tilts his face up to Daichi.

Daichi cups his face in his hands and kisses him, keeping him grounded even though his feet are off the ground and Kuroo is really the one carrying both their weights. When he pulls back, Kuroo chases his lips, coaxing him back into another kiss.

"Alright, that's enough." Daichi pulls back for a second time and Kuroo pouts, trying to bring him back closer again. "I'm beginning to feel like I'm in real danger of falling here."

"You don't weigh a thing," Kuroo blatantly lies, even though now that he is not kissing Daichi he is beginning to feel the strain in his arms and knees.

"Glad to know that," Daichi replies, obviously amused. He is leaning out of Kuroo's reach and Kuroo has just enough sense to know that if he follows Daichi there, he will overbalance and it will just be a sad repeat of what happened the day before.

Left with no other choice, Kuroo makes the trek back to their car with Daichi telling him where to place his feet so that he won't squash the flowers. He deposits Daichi back on the road, where the flowers can't break through the bitumen to get to him, backing him against the door of the car eagerly. Just as he leans in, Daichi puts a hand over his mouth and nods back at the field over Kuroo's shoulder.

"You left my shoes there." Kuroo follows Daichi's gaze to where his shoes are indeed sitting in the middle of the flower field, looking sad and abandoned, and he glances down at Daichi's bare feet on the road.

"I'll be right back," Kuroo says hastily and Daichi's laughter follows him as he makes his way back across the field.

\---

Later in the day, Kuroo sits just inside the car, his legs dangling out of its open door as he half-leans against the seat to watch Daichi. Standing at the border between the road and the grass, Daichi sets his shoes down on the bitumen, the tips of his toes touching the edge of the field. The first flowers have started blooming on the green closest to him, tiny wildflowers springing up from the dirt, all clustered around Daichi.

Daichi takes a deep breath and takes a bold step into the empty field, keeping his strides wide as he heads deeper into it. Flowers bloom in his wake, forming a road that leads from the outside in, the newly awakened flowers swaying in the faint breeze and leaning in towards Daichi as if to follow him. And they don't stop growing, pushing their way out of the ground as Daichi comes to a stop, exploding in bright bursts of colour with Daichi at the centre of it all.

The memory, the nostalgia of a summer a year ago when Daichi had been so far out of his reach then, makes Kuroo's chest go tight. He watches as Daichi crouches down, his back to Kuroo as he spreads his hands out over the ground. The flowers cluster around him eagerly, bending their heads towards him as if sharing in some secret he was telling them.

Kuroo watches with rapt attention as the flowers closest to Daichi sway in and away, in and away, bobbing to an imaginary breeze. Since Daichi set foot on the field, the flowers had not stopped spreading, eating away at the green with their ever-growing numbers. But now, their pace slows and the flowers around the edges grow sparser and sparser until they finally come to a complete stop.

Kuroo sits up, leaning right out of the car and gripping the doorframe as he stands. He burns this memory into his head: of an orange washed sky overhead, the last rays of sunshine catching on Daichi and turning his tan skin a brilliant warm colour as he looks back at Kuroo. Daichi's smile is as wide as the sky, just as bright as the glow of the setting sun as he shouts, "I did it!"

\---

They had intended to stop for the night at an inn over in the next town, calling ahead to reserve a room, bent on a good night's sleep under a proper roof. But halfway between towns, Daichi made Kuroo stop when he looked like he was about to nod off, insisting on taking over when he himself was blinking back sleep through heavy lidded eyes. They came to a compromise and Kuroo drove the car off the road, following the tracks of an unassuming dirt road and parking it there.

"Just for a while," Kuroo says as they crawl into the backseat, leaning it back as far as it will go and laying back on it. "I was really looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed tonight."

"I'll wake you up," Daichi promises, even as his eyes close, his chest already falling into the steady rise and fall rhythm of sleep.

Kuroo inches closer to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and curling up into him, pressing his nose into the side of Daichi's face. He is tired from all that driving and running around in deserted fields and by right he should be following Daichi's example and dropping off into sleep. But somehow, he finds that he can't.

He watches Daichi through half-lidded eyes, his face so close that his features look distorted. His heart is still beating fast from their day's work and the memory of sunlit fields and flowers and Daichi plays on the inside of his eyelids whenever he tries to close his eyes.

There is another memory too, pushing through from the back of his head and overlapping with today's images, and Kuroo _remembers_ the night and the dark and how Daichi had looked under the moonlight when he thought no one could see him.

Kuroo can't fall asleep now, not like this, and he reaches around Daichi to take his hand, lacing their fingers together and tugging at him until he stirs, the steady rhythm of his breathing disrupted.

"Daichi," Kuroo whispers, placing his mouth right by Daichi's ear.

"Go to sleep, Tetsu," Daichi groans, lifting a hand to push at him, only to find it locked down in Kuroo's grip.

"I will, but I need to tell you something first."

He sees Daichi's eyes open in the dark, searching out Kuroo's face groggily as he asks, "What is it?"

"I saw you that time during the training camp. When you were in the woods behind Shinzen with all the flowers."

Daichi furrows his eyebrows, looking confused for a moment before he realises what Kuroo is talking about. "That was you?"

"It was," Kuroo confirms, breaking into a wry smile even though he knows Daichi can't see him. "I ran away then. But I think that's when I first fell for you."

He sees surprise bloom on Daichi's face, the lines of his face stark even in the dark. When Kuroo brushes his hand against Daichi's cheek, his skin is warm to touch as he asks, "Why did you bring that up?"

"No reason." Kuroo presses a kiss to Daichi's forehead. "I'm just glad you're here with me now, Daichi. I love you."

A feeling of euphoria bubbles up in Kuroo after he gets that off his chest, a sense of warmth settling into his skin. He is so contented being here with Daichi, in the cramped space at the back of a borrowed car. It is dark here but Kuroo sees everything perfectly clearly, like the way Daichi's eyes go wide, the raw emotion passing over his face at Kuroo's words. His mouth has fallen open but he doesn't say anything, and he doesn't need to. Kuroo had said what he said because he wanted to, not because he wanted to hear them back.

Kuroo loops an arm around Daichi's waist and hikes a leg over his lap, burying his head into the crook of his neck. Now that that's done, he is sleepy and relaxed and he mumbles to Daichi, "Wake me in a while."

He thinks he hears Daichi say something indistinct, his hand squeezing Kuroo's hand tightly and Kuroo squeezes back, mumbling incoherent words into the side of Daichi's neck as he falls asleep.

\---

There is movement coming from his left.

Vaguely, Kuroo remembers making it to the inn last night. Daichi had woken him up as promised after an hour or so, looking like he had not slept at all, which is why Kuroo wonders why he is even awake now.

Daichi is still moving beside him, which means that he has plans to get up, which means that Kuroo has to take drastic actions like rolling them both over so that he is pressing Daichi down into the sheets with his entire body weight. Daichi squirms under him in protest and Kuroo wraps his arms tight around him so that Daichi can't push him off. It is Kuroo's best move to keep his favourite source of heat with him in bed and rarely does he execute it so perfectly, which leaves him a bit smug through his semi-consciousness.

"Shh, go back to sleep, Dai," Kuroo mumbles drowsily against what he thinks is Daichi's ear.

Daichi stills, somewhat reluctantly, and Kuroo smiles, falling back asleep the moment he feels the tension leave Daichi's body.

\---

"Just how much longer are you going to sleep, Tetsurou?"

Kuroo jolts awake at the sound of Daichi's voice, sharp with irritation, and he blinks because _hello_ the first thing he sees after opening his eyes is a very fine ass. A familiar ass.

They are on the move, or rather, Daichi is on the move with Kuroo slung over his shoulder like a farmer at the morning market transporting a sack of potatoes. It is a nice change after all the Daichi-carrying he did throughout this entire trip, only that he doesn't remember being so unromantic about it.

"I hope you're at least admiring my ass back there," Kuroo tells him.

"There's nothing to see. You have no ass."

Kuroo gasps in indignation, although it is sort of hard to gasp at all with Daichi's shoulder cutting into his stomach. "Excuse me, I have a _great_ ass. Although, it does lose out to yours. The view here is magnificent."

"I'm going to drop you headfirst if you don't stop staring at my ass."

"I can't not look. It's practically at my eye level."

Daichi stops and Kuroo claws at his back, trying unsuccessfully to hang on as Daichi dumps him on the ground. When he finally reorientates himself, he realises that they are outside and that the car is just a few steps away from him. Daichi is already in the driver's seat, adjusting the rear-view mirror and looking pointedly at Kuroo through the open door of the passenger seat.

"So why are we on the run?" Kuroo dusts himself off and scrambles into his seat before Daichi decides to drive off without him. "I get it when we're outside and you're vandalising public property with your gift but I thought we were safe in the inn."

"The inn charges extra if we don't check out by three," Daichi tells him. "And you were the one who wanted to reach Matsushima by today."

"So I did." Kuroo concedes, clicking his seatbelt into place. "How far are we from Matsushima?"

"We're almost there."

\---

They make it to Matsushima by the end of the day, just as the sun dips low in the sky, wavering out on the horizon.

Kuroo coaxes Daichi out of the car and into the thick cluster of trees by the side of the road, tugging on his hand to get him to hurry. He had checked his phone on the way there, directing Daichi to drive into a narrow road further down from the open sea and stopping him just as the little blue indicator matched up exactly with the location on the map. He hopes it is the right spot because they only get one shot at this.

"What's the hurry?" Daichi asks him as they weave between the trees. Kuroo doesn't need to look back to know that Daichi is sprouting flowers again, the green around his feet moving as if they were about to uproot themselves to chase after Daichi as he passes them by.

"You'll see," he says and he doesn't need to look back to see the exasperation on Daichi's face either.

There is still time. When Kuroo pulls Daichi out of the trees, the sun is still there, drawing a line of fire across the sky as it makes its slow descent into the sea. The sand crunches under their shoes as they come to a stop and Kuroo turns his face skyward, tracing the spread of colours in the sky with his eyes, searching out the pinks and blues and everything in between in vast space above them.

This is what he wanted to show Daichi at the end of it all, the ending of all endings to close off their first trip together. It hadn't been a coincidence or a random choice that he picked Matsushima out of all of Miyagi as their last destination. While looking up places to go, he had thought about the sky and sea and it just seemed like something so beautiful that he wanted Daichi to see it.

But when Kuroo looks at Daichi, giddy that they made it, Daichi isn't looking forward at the sunset or up at the colours swirling in the sky, but back at him. And he doesn't look away, the corners of his lips curved up in a faint smile and the brown in his eyes steady, brighter than usual in glow of the setting sun.

"Daichi?"

Daichi moves, reaching out with both hands to cradle Kuroo's face, his thumbs brushing against his cheekbones, his nose knocking into his as he leans in.

"You're such a sap," Daichi says and Kuroo feels the words against his lips, rather than hearing them out loud. He is so close that when Kuroo opens his eyes, he sees nothing but Daichi in front of him, blocking out the perfect sunset around them.

Later, they'll go back to the car with Kuroo leading Daichi through the dark by the hand and peeking down at the bluebells that trail behind them. Matsushima and Daichi's house aren't actually all that far apart and they'll be back before the sun rises, collapsing onto the porch and falling asleep just as the first rays of morning reach for the flowers in the backyard.

But for now, there is this.

Kuroo feels a touch at his hand and he looks down to see Daichi weave his fingers between his. Daichi is smiling—and he has been smiling so much ever since they set out on this road trip and Kuroo is so, so glad—as he leans in to rest his cheek against Kuroo's shoulder.

"You didn't hear a single thing I said last night, did you?" Daichi says softly.

Kuroo turns his head to press a kiss against Daichi's hair. "I might have fallen asleep," Kuroo admits. "You want to run that by me again?"

"No way. You only had one chance." Daichi glances up at Kuroo. "Besides, you were the one who woke me up in the first place to say all those sappy things."

"I was compelled." Kuroo pauses, nudging Daichi with his chin urgently. "Wait, wait, wait, now I'm really curious. What did you say to me?"

Daichi shakes his head, pressing his lips together and not saying another word. There is the barest hint of a smile on his face as Kuroo nudges him again, tugging at him by their linked hands.

"Daichi," Kuroo calls, squashing himself right against Daichi's side, crowding his space and knocking his hip against his, like if he insists on it enough Daichi will open his mouth. "Daichi, come on."

He is this close to tackling Daichi into the sand, and risking an uncomfortable trip back in the car now that they are down to their last sets of clothes, when Daichi grips Kuroo's hand to get him to stop. Daichi is shaking with laughter, his face buried in Kuroo's shoulder, and Kuroo beams at him hopefully as he lifts his eyes to look at Kuroo.

"Come here." Daichi pulls him down by the arm and Kuroo feels his lips against his ear, his breath against his skin, and he closes his eyes as Daichi opens his mouth to speak.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> A confession: I've never been on a road trip
> 
> Another confession: I've never been to Miyagi before and Google maps tells me that it's actually a pretty fast trip around Miyagi so this whole fic is actually running on artistic licence
> 
> Find me here: [tumblr](http://kythen.tumblr.com) / [twitter](http://twitter.com/catcrowcalls)


End file.
